FINAL — Sounders FC 1, New York Red Bulls 0, game thread

FINAL. Sounders FC 1, New York Red Bulls 0. THREE BIG POINTS. Schmid gives big hugs to his staff. Montero claps overhead to the Sounders fans. Could that be the game that turns the season around? Could that be the goal that sparks Montero’s year?

A deserved win for the rave green. Clearly the better side on the day. What do you think of the performance?

92′ — Zakuani booked. Can Seattle kill it off?

91′ — How long are these five minutes of stoppage time going to feel like?

90′ — Ljungberg sets up Zakuani in front of the net, but it’s cleared away well. Seattle nearly sealed it there. Five minutes of stoppage time coming.

89′ — Brad Evans hobbles off after again running all over the field. Pat Noonan, cleared from his hamstring injury, is on.

85′ — GOAL SEATTLE! Fredy Montero’s redemption! The recently-benched forward collects a cross from Brad Evans brilliantly off the chest, takes a touch and beats Coundoul to the near post. Can Sounders FC hold on?

80′ — Montero slides and nearly gets to a cross by Sturgis, but Coundoul was there. The young Colombian looks focused.

79′ — Stammler with a header toward the Seattle goal, but it’s wide. Red Bulls haven’t had very many chances in the second half. Three points would be deserved for Sounders FC.

77′ — Montero comes in for Nyassi. I thought the young Gambian showed very well.

76′ — Evans’ shot deflected out for a corner kick. New York eventually clears.

70′ — Lindpere goes down very easily. Seattle players takes offense and there’s a little bit of pushing and shoving. Marshall booked for the ‘extras’ as is Stammler for NY.

69′ — Somehow Hall is still on the field. Looked to be as clear a second yellow as one could imagine with that off-the-ball foul on Nyassi.

64′ — NY’s Nielsen is the first to really test Kasey Keller tonight, but the captain is up to the challenge on a low shot.

62′ — Vagenas is down. Looks like his right quad? Looks serious enough.

60′ — Evans’ head finds a Nyassi cross, but he can’t get it on target.

57′ — Can Sounders FC take advantage of this strong run of play? We’ll see…

53′ — Nyassi takes a touch past Coundoul on a breakaway! His shot on an empty net is cleared off the line! WOW.

50′ — After a short break for an injury, Ljungberg fires a shot, but doesn’t connect cleanly. Moments later Zakuani sets up Evans, but he can’t redirect a shot on goal. Strong start for Seattle.

47′ — Nyassi gets some space and fires just wide!

46′ — Back underway in this one. What changes do you anticipate? Montero soon? Noonan? Levesque?

Halftime — Still scoreless in this one between Sounders FC and New York. Strong showing so far from the visiting side, though I’d say the play was about even.

Seattle could use a finisher out there, as always. Should be an entertaining second half. Any thoughts?

44′ — Hurtado had a bid giveaway early but has been very strong in the back. Perhaps his best game of the season.

38′ — Evans mishits a shot in front of the goal. That finishing touch just isn’t there for anyone tonight. To be fair, there are no pure forwards in the lineup.

35′ — MISS! Zakuani with an open shot in the box. Sends it well wide. Perhaps the best chance of the day.

32′ — Sounders on their heels a bit now.

27′ — A Red Bull forward gets behind the defense, but a handful of Sounders FC players race back to thwart the attack. Great team effort there.

25′ — Nyassi called for a foul and Seattle protests. Angel shoots from distance but it goes over. Keller had it covered.

23′ — Some decent service coming from the Sounders FC backline today.

19′ — Evans sets up Zakuani in front of the goal off a Vagenas free kick, but he can’t get a shot off. Zakuani later has his cross taken by Coundoul.

15′ — Zakuani called offside. The flag has already gone up several times against Seattle.

11′ — Ljungberg goes down just outside the box, but the ref waves play on. Certainly looked to be some contact there. Hmmmm…

8′ — Nyassi with some great work on the right flank, beats a pair of defenders but his last touch eludes him and Ream clears it for a corner. Seattle would do well to get Zakuani involved.

7′ — First set piece for New York goes unpunished. Pretty even start I’d say.